The Journey
by Broadwaylover5300
Summary: Hairspray fic. Amber and Link begin a journey of discovery during one night in Baltimore.


**Hi! This is just a little something that I wrote while trying to work out the next chapter of the main story I'm working on. There are still some things that I need to work out in the next chapter, but it should be coming soon!**

**By the way, the song in this story is Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen, this is one of my favorite songs of all time and I've wanted to write a story around it for a while.**

_In the day we sweat it out in the streets _

_Of a runaway American dream_

_At night we ride through mansions of glory_

_In suicide machines_

This was Amber's favorite time, late at night, when all the kids would get in their cars and cruise the streets of Baltimore, staying out until dawn, drag racing, eating at the drive-in restaurants, playing pranks on each other, making out over at the canal at the outskirts of town. This was the time when Baltimore turned into a wonderland, a place full of hopes and dreams and experiences just there for the taking.

_Sprung from cages out on Highway 9, _

_Chrome wheeled, fuel injected_

_And stepping out over the line_

One of the things Amber loved most were the cars, cars of every shape and size. They were all polished lovingly until they shined with a heavenly glow, bathed in a white light from the streetlights that lined the main streets of Baltimore, the wheels spinning in a silver whirl, the tailpipes gleaming, the engines roaring like lions and purring like kittens.

_Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones sceam_

_Down the boulevard_

_And girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors_

_And boys try to look so hard_

As Amber and Link, the boy she usually went with during these wonderful nights, passed the movie theater and turned out on the road where most of the drag racing took place, Amber watched as the cars zoomed by and she thought about where she and Link were going, someplace that they had never been before, someplace that Amber had heard about from Tammy and Shelley but had never been before. She had heard about the things that went on up there, and she knew Link had too, and she knew that they both wanted a piece of the action. Tonight, they were going out to the canal for the first time.

_Let me in, I want to be your friend_

_I want to guard your dreams and visions_

_Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims_

_And strap your hands across my engines_

Amber and Link arrived at the canal and pulled into a quiet, secluded area. Music played softly on the radio as Link and Amber looked into each others' eyes.

"Are you ready?" Link said softly.

Amber nodded as she lay back. She moaned softly as she felt Link lay on top of her, and as he kissed her, she felt a great surge of passion rush through her body, leaving her with a warm, tingling feeling all through her, almost like she had a surge of electricity rushing through her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately.

_Together we could break this trap_

_We'll run till we drop, baby, we'll never go back_

_Will you walk with me out on the __wire_

_Cause, baby, I'm just a scared and lonely rider_

Once they had experienced what they had come to experience, Link and Amber sat up and looked into each others' eyes again. Amber had enjoyed deeply what they had just done, and she could tell that Link had enjoyed it too.

"Amber?" Link said.

"Yes?" Amber said softly.

"Let's drive. Let's get out of Baltimore. Let's drive till dawn, let's see where the highway takes us."

Amber was surprised at what Link was saying. "What for? Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know, anywhere. I really don't care where. I just want to get out of this town, I want to go somewhere I've never been before, and I want you to come with me."

Amber thought. It was Friday night. They did have a whole weekend ahead of them, and it wasn't like Velma cared what she did anyway. Amber nodded and said, "Okay, let's do it."

_Baby, this town rips the bones from your back_

_It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap_

_We gotta get out while we're young_

_'Cause tramps like us, baby, we were born to run_

They cruised through the town, and Amber watched as Baltimore went by, and Amber wondered why Link wanted to leave the town, when Amber realized that it wasn't Baltimore at night that Link wanted to leave, it was Baltimore during the day. Suddenly, Amber realized that she felt the same way. By day, Baltimore was just like any other town during the day, a place where people went to work, where people were unemployed, a place where people were wronged and cheated, a place with bad neighborhoods and robbers. It was only at night that Baltimore became a wonderful place, a place that one would ordinarily only find in fairy tales. Suddenly, Amber realized that, without not even knowing it, she had also wanted to escape.

_The highway's jammed_

_With broken heroes_

_On a last chance power drive_

_Everybody's out on the run tonight_

As Amber and Link turned out onto the highway, Amber looked at all the people around them, driving the highway. Amber noticed a lot of them were teenagers. By day, the highway was full of older people, going to their dead-end jobs and going about their boring everyday lives. By night, it was full of teenagers with the same mission as she and Link had, modern-day cowboys wanting to jump into their chrome horses and go someplace new, someplace out there in the moonlight, a place where they could make all their hopes and dreams come true.

_Someday, girl, I don't know when_

_We'll get to that place _

_Where we really want to go_

_And we'll walk in the sun_

_But, till then, tramps like us_

_Baby, we were born to run_

As Amber and Link drove down the highway, Amber came to the realization that there really was a place like the places that she had dreamed of, a place that was just as wonderful during the day as during the night, a place where she and Link could take their hopes and dreams and make them into realities. She knew that place was out there somewhere. She didn't know how long it would take to get there, but she knew that it was certainly worth the journey.

Amber and Link drove off into the moonlight.

**As always, please review!**


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